Zend Framework certification

Today I took and passed the Zend Framework certification exam. A possible project involving Zend might be materializing in the near future, and this was a requirement from one of my contractors (OpenIT). Being that they offered to sponsor the cost, I had no reason not take it.

As I found no concrete online information on the test (and the guide link from Zend doesn't work), I might as well elaborate a little for the benefit of future test takers reading this blog -
The test is 1.5 hours long and composed of 75 questions. Most questions are multiple choice with the rest being open-ended (usually requiring to enter what you believe will the be the result input from several manipulations). The scope of the test is pretty encompassing, touching some modules that I wouldn't normally use (or even imagine a possible use scenario for), but if you have enough experience of the core features (MVC, Db, Cache, Filter/Validation, Localization / Internationalization and Security) and coding standards - you should do just fine.

The one thing to watch out for is the relatively high percentage of trick questions - which actually made the test somewhat harder than I'd anticipated (after you hit several trick questions in a row, you start being suspicious of every question). Some questions didn't even have an absolutely right answer, but sort of the answer of least incorrectness.

Thankfully, 1.5 hours is plenty long for delibrating some of those more ambigious questions - I had finished my first run in about 35 minutes and rechecked everything in 10 more minutes - leaving me 45 minutes to spare.

I do have some more respect for people holding the certification now (regarding knowledge and experience), though I'm not sure what regard does it hold in the industry (this is the first time I've encountered someone asking for it - and the client is Zend itself, so it's not surprising). If anyone has had previous experience with ZF certification qualification requirements, I would love to hear it.

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I passed the ZCE – ZF this year at ZendCon. My experience with and impression of the exam was very similar to yours. I had the benefit of a year’s experience working with the framework, as well as 10 or 15 minutes with the study guide (which I thought was excellent), and was able to complete the exam with a passing grade in about 30-35 minutes.

The thing that surprised me the most about the exam was the emphasis on ZF coding standards. Not to discount the importance of being familiar with coding standards, but I was still surprised with how much emphasis was placed on that topic.

The other thing that I remember was how my familiarity with the ZF API saved me on certain multiple choice questions. While there are modules that I’ve never used, the fairly consistent naming conventions across modules allowed me to make several educated, and presumably correct, guesses.

http://jeremykendall.net Jeremy Kendall

I passed the ZCE – ZF this year at ZendCon. My experience with and impression of the exam was very similar to yours. I had the benefit of a year’s experience working with the framework, as well as 10 or 15 minutes with the study guide (which I thought was excellent), and was able to complete the exam with a passing grade in about 30-35 minutes.

The thing that surprised me the most about the exam was the emphasis on ZF coding standards. Not to discount the importance of being familiar with coding standards, but I was still surprised with how much emphasis was placed on that topic.

The other thing that I remember was how my familiarity with the ZF API saved me on certain multiple choice questions. While there are modules that I’ve never used, the fairly consistent naming conventions across modules allowed me to make several educated, and presumably correct, guesses.

http://www.techfounder.net Eran Galperin

I share your sentiments regarding the API – on questions on components I was not very familiar with I just went for the answers that looked most similar to the framework’s API. This shows that they did a good job, at least with consistency.

http://www.techfounder.net Eran Galperin

I share your sentiments regarding the API – on questions on components I was not very familiar with I just went for the answers that looked most similar to the framework’s API. This shows that they did a good job, at least with consistency.

Just wondering, how many apps have you been developing before taking the exam. Im trying to read the whole documentation and it seems so many. Do ZFCE exam requires memorization of methods. Any advice before taking it.

Thanks,

Mike

Mike

Guys,

Just wondering, how many apps have you been developing before taking the exam. Im trying to read the whole documentation and it seems so many. Do ZFCE exam requires memorization of methods. Any advice before taking it.

Thanks,

Mike

http://www.techfounder.net Eran Galperin

@Mike:
This test, like any other of its ilk, requires familiarization with implementation details.

I would say though that more than anything this test requires understanding of the patterns and coding standards used in the ZF. Even without being familiar with a particular component you can give an accurate answer just by being familiar with the conventions used in the framework.

http://www.techfounder.net Eran Galperin

@Mike:
This test, like any other of its ilk, requires familiarization with implementation details.

I would say though that more than anything this test requires understanding of the patterns and coding standards used in the ZF. Even without being familiar with a particular component you can give an accurate answer just by being familiar with the conventions used in the framework.

Mike

Many thanks Eran for the advice :).

Mike

Many thanks Eran for the advice :).

http://www.majgaj.com/artur Artur Gajewski

I took the exam and passed it on January 4th, 2010. I work for a company where we make new web projects with Zend Framework and convert old projects to ZF.

Even though I do ZF coding full-time, there are still areas that I did not know until I studied for the exam. Thanks to this, I now regurarly use those components on our projects.

The exam was hard enough to not pass it if one doesn’t know about ZF that much. I believe the certification does really show knowledge level in ZF and at least I have another document to stack into my CV folder :)

http://www.majgaj.com/artur Artur Gajewski

I took the exam and passed it on January 4th, 2010. I work for a company where we make new web projects with Zend Framework and convert old projects to ZF.

Even though I do ZF coding full-time, there are still areas that I did not know until I studied for the exam. Thanks to this, I now regurarly use those components on our projects.

The exam was hard enough to not pass it if one doesn’t know about ZF that much. I believe the certification does really show knowledge level in ZF and at least I have another document to stack into my CV folder :)

http://twitter.com/kavyansh Kavyansh

I have scheduled it on 23rd. Focusing on internet and material. Fingers crossed.